officer who stood, watch in hand, ready to give the signal that 

 would send the crowd surging into the water, furiously dipping 

 at the tiny, trout-like fish. 



We noticed that the officer's eyes were sweeping over the mob, 

 and we thought that they rested for a moment, dubiously, on the 

 two smelt-hogs with the buggy-wheel net. But if he disapproved, 

 he gave no outward sign. 



Promptly at the stroke of twelve, the string of floodlights 

 flashed on. Glancing downward we saw that the water fairly 

 teemed with flashing silvery little fish. The next instant it was 

 black with people, buckets in one hand, nets in the other, madly 

 plying their nets, somehow bringing the squirming fish out 

 from the tangle of legs that surrounded them, and skillfully 

 transferring the catch into the waiting buckets. 



The creek was probably a foot in depth, but the displacement 

 of legs raised the water level until overcoat tails floated out 

 behind their owners. 



One man with a long-handled net was industriously dipping 

 and transferring the fish into a bushel basket held by a friend. 

 Intent on his work, he failed to look where he was swinging the 

 fish, and on one dip, instead of dumping them in the basket, he 

 brought the net down over the head of a white-bearded old 

 gentleman, who spluttered as he combed wriggling smelt out 

 of his whiskers. 



The guys with the buggy wheel? They never made a lift! Leap- 

 ing into the stream at the signal, they lowered the huge net to 

 the bottom, where it was promptly filled with booted legs! They 

 yelled, and they tugged at the rim of the huge net, but as one 

 leg would step out, two more would step in, and a final frantic 

 pull doomed their well-laid plans. 



The conservation officer grinned and winked: "I figured that 

 would happen," he said. "That's why I didn't stop 'em from 

 hoggin' the crick." 



Ten minutes from the time of the signal there was not a 

 smelt left in the creek. The floodlights were snapped off, and 

 the crowd adjourned to the taverns to rest, to ruminate on the 

 art of smelt dipping, and to wait for the four-o'clock run. 



